Gear Review Gen 3 Glock 30

I picked up a new Glock 30 on Wednesday and went to the range today.
It surprised me how controllable it was I thought that a small pistol in .45 ACP might move around after a few shots but it did not. About the same accuracy at 25 yards as my Glock 21.
Another bonus is the 13 round Glock 21 mags work in the G30.
My carry gun has been a Sig Sauer P6 but as soon as I get more range time with the G30 it will become my carry gun.
The P6 is about the same weight unloaded as the G30 ,\
the .45 ammo will make if heavier when loaded but 10 + 1 of .45 in the G30 versus 8 + 1 9MM in the P6.

.45 AUTO / Safe ActionDimensions

Length:
177 mm / 6.96 in.

Width:
32.50 mm / 1.27 in.

Length Between Sights:
150 mm / 5.91 in.

Height:
122 mm / 4.80 in.

Barrel Height:
32 mm / 1.26 in.

Barrel Length:
96 mm / 3.77 in.

Weights

Unloaded:
750 g / 26.48 oz.

Loaded:
960 g / 33.89 oz.

Trigger Pull / Travel

Trigger Pull:
~2.5 kg / ~5.5 lbs.

Trigger Travel:
~12.5 mm / ~0.49 in.

Barrel Rifling / Length of Twist

Barrel Rifling:
right hand, octogonal

Length of Twist:
400 mm / 15.75 in.

Magazine Capacity

Standard:
10

Optional:
13

Last edited: Apr 26, 2015

"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
-
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain his food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. He cannot dig a ditch-or build a cyclotron-without a knowledge of his aim and of the means to achieve it. To remain alive, he must think." John Galt (Ayn Rand)

Patents are not evil, profit is not a dirty word, providing for your family's future is not a sin, and what is mine is not your's just because you want it. Kellory.I have received NO secret government orders.(Watch for this notice to be removed)

I used to have a Glock 30- it was really nice, but what I really wanted was the Glock 36 (It's thinner). I was rather shortsighted, and a deal came up for a Kimber ultra CDPII with no sights- just a guttersnipe. I learned to really dislike Kimber, even though the CDPII was an adequate weapon for concealed carry, I lost the muscle memory to remove the safety while drawing.

Instead of training for it, I kept the manual of arms for Glock and eventually traded the Kimber away for a Gen3 Glock 21 (still not a Glock36). All being said, I was able to swap between pistols, and not really lose any money or gain any in the process. I did gain knowledge, and a better understanding of my biomechanical and mental state of carrying/drawing/shooting.

Should I have traded the Glock 30 away? Realistically, no. I did learn a lot about how my shooting style evolved over the years since I started carrying Glocks. Maybe that alone was worth the effort.

Things I liked about the Glock 30:
-Stout cartridge for self defense. I just wish they made a Glock 30 pistol in 10mm size! (then you could add a bunch of other freaky cartridges, like 9x23 Dillon)
-Although it is wide, it's smaller overall length and height made it more easily concealable than a Glock 21.
-Easy to work on, customize, and modify. I have yet to FIX a Glock, but I have added things and taken away stuff to try to see if I could improve it for my biomechanics.
-Some parts are interchangeable with other full size frames. The Glock 36 shares less parts than the 30 does.

Things I didn't like about the Glock 30:
-Too wide (for me) to easily conceal in the summer. Now there are a myriad of good kydex IWB holsters in the offering, maybe this is better now?
-The lack of .22lr conversion kits for the 30. You can find them for the 17/22, 19/23, 26/27, and 20/21, but nobody wants to make one for the more obscure Glocks.
-the combination of recoil (not bad), short grip, and magazine extension put a gap right at my pinky finger. When firing the recoil would make the pistol and magazine not just flip the muzzle up, but move the magazine a little bit. This causes the small gap between the frame and top of the mag extension to close, pinching the meaty portion at the top of some people's pinky. Call it "magazine bite" if you will. I have never experienced this, but some people do and have warned me several times about it.

Last edited: Apr 26, 2015

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"...regulations have sometimes been well meaning but often designed specifically as a barrier to competition by special interests who helped write the rules."- Carl Popper on Zerohedge.com, November 2013

"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
-
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Although I have bought or traded for a half-dozen or so Glocks, over the years, I have never fired one, not even once. I have read all the reviews and understand that it is a very functional piece of tupper-ware, just never cared for the design or ergonomics. I may be the most die-hard 1911 fan left alive.

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